Table of Content

15 March 2004, Volume 43 Issue 01

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A NEW NOTHOSAUR FROM MIDDLE TRIASSIC OF GUIZHOU, CHINA

LI JinLing, RIEPPEL Olivier

2004, 43(01):  1-12. 

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According to Rieppel (2000) , the genus Nothosaurus contains 8 valid species (N. mirabilis, N. cymatosauroides, N. edingerae, N. haasi, N. giganteus, N. juvenilis, N. marchicus, N. tchernovi) , which were all found in deposits ranging from the lower Anisian to the lower Carnian of the Western Tethyian faunal province (Europe , northern Africa and western Asia) . More recently, a new species, N. jagisteus, was described by Rieppel (2001) based on a partial skeleton from upper Muschelkalk of southern Germany. The first representative of the genus Nothosaurus in the Eastern Tethyian faunal province is Nothosaurus sp. (Rieppel , 1998), represented by a seriously damaged skull and 5 cervical vertebrae (National Geological Museum of China Vm 1308), and previously recognized as a simosaur Shingyisaurus unexpectus by Young C C in 1965. Since the 1990s, many nothosaur specimens have been discovered from the Zhuganpo Member of the Falang Formation in Xingyi , Guizhou and in adjacent areas. The material described in the present paper was collected during the field season of 2001.

A NEW PALEOCENE TILLODONT (TILLODONTIA , MAMMALIA) FROM QIANSHAN, ANHUI, WITH A REVIEW OF PALEOCENE TILLODONTS FROM CHINA

WANG Yuan Qing, JIN Xun

2004, 43(01):  13-26. 

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A left lower jaw from the Paleocene Wanghudun Formation of the Qianshan Basin , Anhui Province, southern China is described. It represents a new genus and species of tillodont, named Benaius qianshuiensis gen. et sp. nov. The new species is characterized by the following features: size small, dental formula 2 + ? ·1·4·3 , i2 not greatly enlarged , p1 present but reduced and laterally compressed, no metaconid on p3 , and p4 submolarized without entoconid. Reexamination of dental features of the Chinese Paleocene tillodonts, including the originally assigned taxa and the reallocated forms of the order, suggests that Lofochaius, Meiostylodon , Interogale, Plethorodon and Simplodon have affinities to the order Tillodontia, whereas Anchilestes, Dysnoetodon, Huananius, and Yuesthonyx do not have close relationships to tillodonts. This conclusion is coincident with the result of the phylogenetic analysis on the basis of the dental characters.

OLBITHERIUM MILL ENARIUSUM , A NEW PERISSODACTYL-LIKE ARCHAIC UNGULATE (MAMMALIA) FROM THE EARLY EOCENE WUTU FORMATION, SHANDONG

TONG YongSheng, 　　WANG JingWen, 　　Meng Jin

2004, 43(01):  27-38. 

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A unique mammal was found from the Early Eocene of the Wutu Basin, Shandong Province, China. The upper molars of the species are similar to those of early perissodactyls in general morphology , but the m1～2 are much like those of phenacodontids in having an incomplete hypolophids , and the M3 has a hypocone with prehypocrista and posthypocrista , which is similar to that of primitive hyraxes. It is difficult to assign the new species to the order Perissodactyla or other definite orders. It seems advisable to refer the new species to“Mirorder Phenacodonta”, including Condylarthra , Perissodactyla and Hyracoidea (sensu McKenna , 1975) .

CRICETID (RODENTIA, MAMMALIA) REMAINS FROM THE MIDDLE EOCENE OF YUANQU, SHANXI

HUANG XueShi

2004, 43(01):  39-44. 

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The fossil cricetids described in the present paper were obtained from the Middle Eocene of Yuanqu Basin by screen-washing in two field seasons of 1997 and 1998. This discovery not only adds the member of the Eocene faunal list of the Basin but sheds light on the age of the fossil-bearing bed.

CENOZOIC STRATIGRAPHIC SEQUENCE OF THE LINXIA BASIN IN GANSU, CHINA AND ITS EVIDENCE FROM MAMMAL FOSSILS

DENG Tao, WANG XiaoMing, NI XiJun, LIU LiPing, LIANG Zhong

2004, 43(01):  45-66. 

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The Linxia Basin is situated in the southeastern part of Gansu Province , China , and it is a flexural basin bounded by the Leijishan fault , North Qinling fault , and the Maxian mountain (Fang et al. , 2003) . The Cenozoic strata are very thick and well-exposed in the Linxia Basin , and abundant mammal fossils are discovered from the strata (Fig. 1) . Before the 1950s , there were few works done about the Tertiary strata in the Linxia Basin , and the sediments were mostly referred to the informal name“Gansu Group”. Subsequently, the Tertiary red beds in the Linxia Basin were given the formal name Linxia Formation , the age being determined to be Pliocene , and was divided into four lithologic members ( GRGIT , 1965) . Qiu et al. (1990,1991) first described the Early and Late Miocene fossils in the Linxia Basin. After comparing the Jiaozigou section with the stratotype of the Linxia Fm., Qiu et al. (1990) and Xie (1991) suggested that the Linxia Fm. limited to the fourth member of the original Linxia Fm. , with an age of Late Miocene. Li et al. (1995) further divided the Linxia strata , and renamed different formations from the Late Oligocene to the Holocene. We adopt some of their divisions and revised others, and we recognized the following sequences (from lower to upper) : ? Early Oligocene Tala Formation, Late Oligocene Jiaozigou Formation, Middle Miocene Dongxiang and Laogou Formations, Late Miocene Liushu Formation, Early Pliocene Hewangjia Formation, Late Pliocene Jishi Formation, and Early Pleistocene Wucheng Loess (Fig. 2 ; Table 1) .

MURIDS FROM THE LATE MIOCENE BAHE FORMATION, LANTIAN, SHAANXI

QIU ZhuDing, ZHENG ShaoHua, ZHANG ZhaoQun

2004, 43(01):  67-76. 

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Two forms of Muridae, Progonomys sinensis sp. nov. and Muridae gen. et sp. indet. from the late Miocene Bahe Formation at Lantian, Shaanxi Province are described. The new species, occurring in lower horizons of the formation , demonstrates intermediate characters between P. cathalai and P. woelferi in dimension and morphology. The new murid argues for an age of early late Miocene for the lower portions of the Bahe Formation , corresponding to early Baodean of Chinese Land Mammal Age, which can be correlated with late Vallesian or MN10 of Europe. Consequently, the new species is important because it repre2 sents diversity in the species of the genus Progonomys and the oldest murid known in China. The indeterminate species was probably closely allied to the new species.

PARAKANN EMEYERIA CHENGI SP. NOV. FROM KELAMAYI FORMATION OF JIMUSAR, XINJIANG

LIU Jun

2004, 43(01):  77-80. 

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A new specimen (CAGS V 382) (Figs. 1～2) was described and a new species, Parakannemeyeria chengi, was erected based on this specimen. This material was found in the lower part of the Kelamayi Formation (Middle Triassic) of Jimusar, Xinjiang by Professor Cheng Zhengwu. It was identified as Parakannemeyeria by: skull curved, long, narrow and high; preorbital length more than 45 % of skull length ; the width between orbits less than 40 % of the skull length; occipital plate high and narrow. But it also has some characters used to be thought as the diagnosis of Sinokannemeyeria such as broad intertemporal region, reduced nasal middle ridge; these two characters are enough to distinguish this specimen from all other Parakannemeyeria. A cladistic analysis was done for the phylogenetic relationship of Parakannemeyeria chengi among all known species of Sinokannemeyeria, Parakannemeyeriaand Xiyukannemeyeria using the characters and data matrix of Liu and Li (2003) , only adding the character states of P. chengi (Table 1) . A shortest tree was obtained , it is nearly the same as the tree of Liu and Li (2003) , other than P. chengi is the sister group of P. shenmuensis. The autopomorphies of P. chengi are indistinct mid2nasal ridge, wide intertemporal region mainly formed by parietal (and interparietal), the posterior part of jugal arch nearly triangular in cross section.

BIOSTRATIGRAPHY OF TERTIARY FOSSIL FISHES FROM NINGMING BASIN, GUANGXI

CHEN GengJiao, CHEN YunFa, KUANG GuoDun, ZHU QiuPing

2004, 43(01):  81-85. 

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he fossil fishes from Ningming, Guangxi, include members of the Clupeomorpha, Cypriniformes and Perciformes. Its geologic age is probably Miocene based on the studies of fossil-bearing strata in China and adjacent countries, and evolutionary history of Cyprinidae. Judging from the constitution of the fish group, the environment should be freshwater related occasionally to marine water.